Junta artillery strikes cause fires in Pauktaw town

By Admin 23 Nov 2023

DMG Newsroom
23 November 2023, Pauktaw

Junta artillery strikes started fires in some wards in Arakan State’s Pauktaw town on Thursday, according to local residents.

Shells fired by the junta’s warships and No. 12 Police Battalion based in Sittwe landed on No. 1 Ward in Pauktaw at 12 p.m., and houses caught fire, a witness told DMG.

“[Junta] has been shelling from Sittwe since morning. They fired near Lawka Hteikpan Pagoda. [Shells] landed in wards near the village, and houses were burning,” he said.

The AA seized the central police station in Pauktaw town on November 16. The regime responded with artillery bombardment the same day, forcing locals to flee their homes. Some 500 civilians were trapped in the town. The Arakan Army (AA) managed to rescue over 100 people on Tuesday.

The AA says it is trying to rescue remaining civilians. Fierce fighting continued for the eighth consecutive day on Thursday as the regime carried out joint operations using army, navy and air force. The regime carried out air raids on Pauktaw on Wednesday.

A woman who was rescued by the AA told DMG that some Pauktaw residents are still under junta detention at the town hall and agriculture office in Pauktaw town.

“Some people are still trapped there, and the regime does not allow them to leave. We don’t know their exact number,” she said. 

DMG was unable to obtain comment from Arakan State security and border affairs minister Colonel Kyaw Thura.